[Music] infertility affects men and women equally and is diagnosed when a woman is unable to become pregnant after one year of trying to conceive if a woman is able to become pregnant but has recurrent miscarriages or even stillbirths she would also be diagnosed with infertility infertility is fairly common approximately 15 of couples are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying there are many causes of infertility approximately 35 percent of cases are due to male factors and 35 percent of cases are due to female factors 20 of cases are a combination of both male and female factors it is important for both partners to evaluate their health history to decrease their risk of infertility even certain medications taken by the female or male partner or activities performed by the female or male partner can lead to the inability to get pregnant a woman should seek the help of her doctor if she has tried to get pregnant for one year without success or if she is 35 years old or older and she has tried to get pregnant for six months without success if a woman or her male partner have genetic medical conditions have had previous cancer treatments or have other medical conditions that may increase their risk of infertility they should consult with their doctor prior to trying to get pregnant it is recommended that all medical issues be optimized and immunization should be current prior to trying to get pregnant infertility is commonly associated with stress worry and emotional strains on your relationship in 10 of couples a cause of infertility cannot be identified which adds further stress during this process if your family is suffering from infertility you are not alone various treatment options are available and many families have happy endings which may be due to a pregnancy surrogacy or adoption explore your treatment options with your ob gyn or fertility doctor